ratchet up phrasal verb (
see also ratchet)
to increase something by a small amount, especially after a series of increases, or to increase in this way
ratchet something ↔ up
Raising the minimum wage would ratchet up real incomes in general. The debate will ratchet up a notch on Wednesday when the Commission publishes its report. [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲